by Glyn and Will Melnyk,  Chattanooga 

This past June we fulfilled a dream and spent two weeks in the Shetland Islands visiting sites sacred to all fiber artists. We loved Uradale and Silly Sheep crofts, Jamison & Smith, and the Shetland Textile Museum. We decided to cap off that experience by attending Judi Jetson's recent fleece preparation workshop at Local Cloth's studio at 408 Depot St, Asheville, NC. We were inspired by Judi to build our own skirting table and to process the fleeces we received during her workshop.

Like many fiber artists, we only process a few fleeces a year, so we wanted something simple and easy to store. So here is a simple homemade skirting table for the occasional fleece processor, with material available from most hardware stores. The good news is that the frame and the folded sawhorses store flat against the wall!

The complete instructions are found below.

Tools:

• Small Hand Saw
• Electric Drill
• Philips Head Screwdriver
• Heavy Duty  Staple Gun

Materials:

• 2 ea boards  72" x 3" x 1"
• 3 ea boards   36" x 3" x 1"
• Roll of 36" wide chicken wire
• 12 ea 2" Philips Head screws
• Table legs ordered on line were a pair of light weight sawhorses.

Process:

• Cut lumber and chicken wire to size.
• Connect lumber as shown with two screws at each joint.
• Stretch chicken wire over the frame and attach with heavy duty staples.

Ready to skirt our first fleece.

Thanks, Judi, for your inspiration!